Burning Man is over for another year and all the wonderful pictures taken this year are gradually surfacing across the internet. We’ve gathered a few of our favourites, plus some videos.
The Burning Man Project takes place in the middle of the Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, USA. For 7 days, Black Rock City is a place of community, art, self-expression and self-reliance. Participants at this festival enjoy a transformative experience unlike any other on the planet. The night that they ‘burn the man’ is akin to a New year’s Eve celebration.
The event runs almost entirely from social capital. Art projects are mostly crowd-sourced, music stages are self-funded and all the performers and visitors volunteer their time and give away free stuff to everybody – the gift economy. Of course the organisation behind the event BMOrg (Burning Man Organization) does a huge amount of work to set up the city which becomes home to 70,000 people for a week.
Below: The Candymen – visitors from the Bay Area, San Fransico, contributing to the “gift economy” by handing out sweets.
This year there were plenty of climbable art projects including a huge Xenomorph alien queen fortress, a metal spinning globe and a massive tower with a globe on top that required basic rock-climbing skills to reach the top.
The most talked about art was undoubtedly the Embrace Art Structure. Both of the human structures had passage ways and windows and you could climb to the top. The male had a heart with gears (showing logic) and the female had lightbulbs inside her heart (showing creativity).
The electronic music stages were filled with some great talent including Skrillex, Major Lazer, Above & Beyond, Robot Heart and many more.
The fireworks at Burning Man are some of the best in the world and this year an art piece called Nuclear Dream was detonated. The huge mushroom cloud explosion was heard across the whole playa. Take a look at the video below.
SHOWTIME! We continue our series of ‘In Performance at the White House’ – a series of concerts created to showcase the rich fabric of American culture in the exclusive setting of the nation’s most famous home. To see last weeks post, Motown Sound, click here.
Tap video titles to play them in Creation 5
Paul McCartney – The Gerswhin Prize for Popular Song 2010
“In Performance at the White House: Paul McCartney” is a PBS music special taped in the East Room of the White House. President and Mrs. Obama hosted the concert in honor of musician Sir Paul McCartney’s receipt of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The evening included performances by McCartney himself and Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello, Jonas Brothers, Herbie Hancock, Corinne Bailey Rae, Dave Grohl, Faith Hill, Emmylou Harris, Lang Lang and Jack White, with remarks by Jerry Seinfeld. President Obama presented the Gershwin Prize to Paul McCartney during the event.
Paul McCartney wrote his first song at the age of 14 and since then he has always dreamed and dared to be different. As the writer of the Beatles’ greatest songs, he basically changed the world of music. Since The Beatles he has continued to push the boundaries of music, first as a solo artist, then with the band Wings and now as a solo artist again. Paul has spent most of the last few years performing to sold out concerts all over the world.
President Obama said: “It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly half a century since four lads from Liverpool landed on our shores and changed everything overnight.”
McCartney commented in an interview with the AP: “One of the highs was singing ‘Ebony and Ivory’ with Stevie because we’d never done it live together, so that was great. To sing it live together for the very first time with the first black president there, it suddenly gave a great significance to the song….To sing it with Stevie in front of President Obama was very emotional.”
When accepting the award, McCartney said: “This is such a fantastic evening for me. I mean, getting this prize would just be good enough, but getting it from this President…” which resulted in cheers and applause from the audience.
Download these shows and add them to your music library
This is part of a 10-week series that we will be running on our blog, with the music videos conveniently separated into individual performances so that you can save and download your favourite artists, or the whole show if your prefer. Creation 5’s YouTube feature lets you download videos so you can watch offline when you’re travelling and enjoy great music on-the-go. Don’t forget that you can download Creation 5’s YouTube In-app purchase absolutely FREE, which normally costs €4.49 ($4.99), as we currently have a promotion running in celebration of hitting 450,000 downloads on the App Store!
01 Paul McCartney – Got to Get You Into My Life 02 Stevie Wonder – We Can Work It Out 03 Jonas Brothers – Drive My Car 04 Jerry Seinfeld comedy routine 05 Jack White – Mother Nature’s Son 06 Faith Hill – The Long and Winding Road 07 Corinne Bailey Rae & Herbie Hancock – Blackbird 08 Elvis Costello – Penny Lane 09 Emmylou Harris – For No One 10 Lang Lang – Celebration (instrumental from Standing Stone) 11 Dave Grohl – Band on the Run 12 Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder – Ebony and Ivory 13 President Obama’s dedication speech 14 Paul McCartney – Michelle 15 Paul McCartney – Eleanor Rigby 16 Paul McCartney – Let It Be 17 Paul McCartney – Hey Jude
How exactly is one to introduce a veritable institution in modern music? The critically acclaimed underground legend Sasu Ripatti has been at the forefront of so many genres and sub-genres of electronic production as to defy expectation. Over the years after his breakout release (Vocalcity, composed under the moniker Luomo when he was only 25, remains an oft referenced landmark in house music), Ripatti has only gone from strength to strength, mastering house, techno, dub, experimental, ambient, jazz (he’s originally a percussionist) and whatever else he chooses to dabble in – he’s a polyglot with the Midas touch. It’s impossible to condense Sasu Ripatti’s output into this space, so to find out more about the artist, read his biography here.
In this revealing interview, the reclusive genius (he lives in near isolation on an island near the Arctic Circle) behind the many monikers speaks out.
You’ve been putting out music under a different name for nearly every sub-genre you experiment with. Why choose to do this when output from a single pseudonym can be far more recognizable to listeners? Don’t you want a familiarity to exist? First off, I’m really not about being recognizable or having a brand or any such thing. Overall, it just feels right to give differing names to different projects or concepts. I like to produce and be involved with lots of different kinds of music, and they don’t always go hand in hand. To me, it wouldn’t make sense to put out the material I do as Delay and as Luomo under the same alias, it would be rather confusing for people. What really matters, actually, is that it doesn’t feel right to me. I’m all for confusing people, after all. Often people are only aware of a certain strain of my music, or like a specific project.
Not only do you perform and record as a percussionist in the Moritz von Oswald trio (headed by Moritz von Oswald, one of the fathers of 90s techno), but you also have your own experimental jazz quartet. This is, of course, besides your electronic output as Luomo, Conoco or Sistol – not to mention Vladislav Delay. That’s a mammoth oeuvre. How do you manage it all? From my perspective it’s the other way around. Had I only been making experimental ambient music for the past ten years, for example, I’d need professional help. I can’t imagine restricting myself like that. Again and again I come back to the analogy of food. There’s no way I would eat any food for more than a week in a row, no matter how good. And the same goes for my favourite albums: there’s a limit after which (the music) just doesn’t work anymore, you need variety. Making music is exactly the same thing. There’s a whole world out there, why would I stick to one genre? It makes no sense to me. But this also means that you can’t keep doing everything all the time. I’m not working on Luomo/ Conoco/ Sistol nowadays, and I recently stopped playing with the Moritz von Oswald trio as well – it’s time to move on and do other things. There are other collaborations and projects to look forward to. I don’t like to get stuck on a particular thing and, more often than not, things eventually tend to slow down creatively. It’s hard to bring new fire into a project sometimes. In the end, it’s just waveforms that you try to create emotions with. This tempo or that tempo, this mood or that… I’m rather omnivorous.
In 2011, Animal Collective invited you to perform at the All Tomorrow’s Parties that they curated. How was the experience? It was one of my better shows for sure. A dedicated audience and a massive high quality PA – what more could one ask for? I also enjoyed seeing some bands that I had no idea existed, trendy indie stuff and acts I wasn’t very familiar with.
Vocalcity is my personal favourite Sasu Ripatti album – like all your best work, none of the cinematic tracks dips below ten minutes in length. Do you believe longer, free-flowing compositions afford the artist greater scope? It’s not that simple. I often seem to just need time to build things, and I don’t really work well with the ‘three minutes thirty seconds’ format (even when it’s something relatively pop-like, such as Luomo). I’m in no rush, I don’t need to shorten tracks for any practical reasons, and I like to take my time. Lots of the music I’m influenced by is also lengthy and developing in structure, although I do enjoy some mainstream forms of music that clock in at 3:30 each and every time – no surprises there. It’s difficult for me personally to make short tracks, let’s put it like that. There’s always too much to say, too much to put into a very short format; but I never try to extend tracks intentionally to make them long. I’ve done smaller pieces, and some of them are my favourites. I have, slowly, also perhaps become slightly better at arranging and composing and need less time to say what I want to say musically.
Where did the ideas for Luomo and Vocalcity come from? What propelled you to try to inject emotion and warmth to the niche sub-genre of micro-house at such a young age? Did it not daunt you, a task that would daunt even a far more experienced and mature artist? I didn’t care at all, to be honest. I had no idea what house music was, never mind micro-house… it was one of the least interesting forms I could ever imagine listening to. I really hadn’t even heard any actual house music, just the cheap commercial stuff off the radio. For me it was never about house music: it was about pop music. I never wanted to start a band for my pop or vocal music. Electronic backing, however, suits me well when I choose to write pop with vocals. It’s just a vehicle. Back then I was doing lots of ambient stuff and getting a little bored of it. I was garnering attention for said ambient stuff, and the labels attached to me bothered me to the extent that I decided to do something totally different. I had made strange electronica for years on end and I think I had a little breakdown or something. I knew a jazz singer from the time I was heavily into the jazz scene and used to play drums. I asked her and a keyboard player to join me. I just got on with it without much planning or thought. I remember the time I sent the first tracks to the label that released Luomo. They said there weren’t enough kick-drums… I remember I tried putting them in – and that’s the house thing I guess. It was a hard period in my life, personally. I was quite a mess and it was somehow therapeutic to write those lyrics and make emotional music.
What are your favourite places in the world to perform at, and why? I have noticed I’m changing in this respect. It’s partly due to having moved to a remote location (an island in the Baltic Sea, near the Arctic Circle) which makes traveling rather challenging, but beyond that I have realized more and more that my main interest lies in the studio rather than in playing concerts. Don’t get me wrong, I like to play some good shows (and still do every now and then) – but the fact is also that not every show is a good one, and often unrelated to what you’re producing. Those tend to kill me every time a little bit. Anyway, Tokyo and Kyoto are probably my favourite places followed by random smatterings everywhere. If it’s more dance-oriented music it’s often better the more south you go; for experimental stuff it’s often places where conditions are harsher, or at least less sunny. Still, these are stereotypes and they often fall short. Shows in Japan usually don’t fail, though. People are very considerate and interested in what you’re doing, there’s a certain dedication in Japan that’s more of a norm there than the random, surprise adulation you get elsewhere.
You’re a Pitchfork darling, and arguably one of the most respected producers in the world today. What are your own inspirations? And what new talent have you heard that impresses you? Am I a Pitchfork darling? I think they’ve routinely ignored everything I have done for years. I’m just not trendy enough. My own inspirations are rather varied. Obviously there’s music, which has been a part of my life non-stop ever since I was a child. My first memories are almost all connected to music or other creative media. Music in its many forms still inspires me: mainly older jazz, Jamaican, world music, hip-hop, classical. But I must say I’m connecting less and less with most of the music being made today, compared to some music I’ve truly been inspired by in the past. I still look for new stuff, but maybe less than I used to. It’s just that there’s so much, and not all of it is good. My time is limited. The music I listen to is therapeutic above all. I easily spend 10 to 12 hours in the studio every day, listening to stuff I’m working on. After that I really don’t want to challenge my ears, I want to do the opposite. More often than not it’s something like Bill Evans trio or Chet Baker or I-Roy or some entertaining hip-hop, maybe some solo piano music. Not the latest electronic assault, though; it’s too much. I must add that I generally just don’t like the sound of most music made in the past few years. I’m not contesting its musicality – just what it sounds like. I mean it’s fucking loud, and it’s over-processed, -produced, and pushed to its limits – often, nowadays, with cheap digital gear by people who don’t know much about the technical side of things… about the art of recording. There’s not much room for my own creativity to play around there because there’s no space. The music I love always has plenty of room to hang around and add your self to. Books have also been quite an inspiration, since my both parents are/were authors. Movies to some extent. Food and cooking to a much greater extent. I cook almost every day. My daughter is arguably the biggest inspiration of them all. I’m inspired by interesting people, from farmers and fishermen to artists and criminals and everything in between. I’m inspired by travel, what I see and learn and notice. There’s so much inspiration around, it just flows in…
Vladislav Delay is possibly your most famous and prolific project. Is there an especial stylistic attachment you have to it over your other work? Somewhat. It’s more of my own thing than anything else I’ve done. Delay’s music is more expressive and true to my self, to the point that I don’t have to work all that much on this project as compared to the sportsman-like feeling I sometimes get when I’m making vocal or club music. There’s no intention or trying, I just let it go where it wants to.
Despite the incredible adulation and critical acclaim most of you projects have received, you have, somehow, remained reluctant to toy with mainstream success. Was it a conscious choice to remain an underground artist? Yes.
Yesterday during a keynote presentation in Cupertino, California, Apple unveiled the iPhone 6, the iPhone 6 Plus and the Apple Watch. It was quite a presentation. It’s the biggest advance in the history of iPhone and the most desirable wearable we’ve ever, ever seen.
Size and Display
The screen on the iPhone 6 is 4.7 inches in size, with 1334 x 750 resolution, which is basically equivalent to a 720p Android phone. The iPhone 6 Plus, which uses an even bigger Full HD, 1080p with 5.5-inch screen. The iPhone 6 isn’t just bigger than the 5s it’s way better. It has a smooth metal surface that seamlessly meets with the gorgeous Retina HD display. Both models are IPS and feature improved colour reproduction.
The iPhone 6 although a bigger handset is not huge at all, sizing in at just 6.9mm thick. The iPhone 6 Plus is slightly bigger, measuring 7.1mm thick.
Processor
The chip inside is a brand new A8 processor which Apple says is up to 50x faster than the original iPhone. The motion coprocessor is also updated with a new M8 unit to sit alongside the A8 which measures your steps, movement and even elevation. Nike will update its running app to track how high and low you are running.
Battery Life
Battery life is hugely improved – see the stats below. The iPhone 6 Plus scores here with a significantly longer battery life than its smaller sibling – perhaps because it can hold a bigger battery.
Camera
8-megapixel sensor, a true tone flash and an even faster aperture.
Apple has introduced something called ‘Focus Pixels’ that allow the handset to use ‘phase detection auto focus’ which basically means a two-times increase in speed over the older-generation iPhone.
Face detection is improved for focusing, it uses digital image stabilization, and optical image stabilization which will make it even better at capturing photos in low light.
Slow motion is also improved, doubling from 120 fps to a full 240 fps. Time lapse video is also built into iOS 8 (hooray!), and continuous autofocus is now possible using the new iSight sensor, while shooting video.
Connectivity
iPhone 6 has faster LTE download speeds and supports more LTE bands than any other smartphone so you can roam in more places. When you’re connected to Wi-fi you’ll get up to 3x faster speeds.
We are delighted to hear that Wi-Fi calling has been built in and very conveniently the phone will seamlessly switch between 4G and Wi-Fi wherever possible, so that you get the best call quality. You won’t know it’s happening either.
Apple Pay
This will change how we pay for things forever. Contactless payment technology is here. No more searching for your wallet, no more stressing over finding the right card. No more swiping and waiting – it all happens with a single touch. It’s quick (seconds), easy (all the info is in your phone) and really secure. To pay, all you do is hold your iPhone near the contactless reader with your finger on Touch ID. That’s it…! You don’t even have to look at the screen to know your payment has been made – a subtle vibration and beep lets you know. And if you ever lose your phone you just use Find My iPhone to quickly put your device in Lost Mode so that nothing is accessible, or you can choose to wipe the device clean.
iOS 8
The world’s most advanced operating system has made a huge leap as well. It’s really, really smart. You can now do things you could only imagine before, like using Siri to control the devices in your home or using your health and fitness app to contact your doctor. Here’s a brief list of what’s new: • Add voice or video to any message • See a clear picture of your health from a dashboard that’s updated daily • The keyboard has just got really smart, typing is way easier, with contextually appropriate suggestions based on who you are typing to and in what app. • All your favourite people can access your favourite things – family sharing on iTunes for up to 6 family members • Introducing iCloud Drive for any kind of file on all of your devices • Smarter notifications – act on notifications without leaving the app you are in • Search also got smarter – it now looks beyond your device and considers context and location to give you the most accurate results
Both models are available in gold, silver and space grey starting from $199.
There is so much to say about this new wearable. To start with, it’s the hottest thing we’ve ever laid eyes on. Before the presentation yesterday in California, not one of the Creation Team were particularly interested in the Apple Watch. After the presentation we were already deciding which one we were going to have. Impressed is an understatement. The only bad thing about it is we have to wait till early 2015 before we can get our hands on one.
First off – it’s gorgeous. Rolex eat your heart out. This is a highly desirable watch. It might be “just a gadget” but its so intimate and personal that it has entered it’s own category. It represents a new chapter in the relationship people have with technology. As Apple say “It’s the most personal product we’ve ever made, because it’s the first one designed to be worn”.
Made for Everyone
A device you wear, by definition has to be vastly different than one you carry around. The Apple Watch is available in three distinctive collections:
Apple Watch – Stainless steel or space black stainless steel cases. Sapphire crystal. A range of stylish bands.
Apple Watch Sport – Anodized aluminum cases in silver or space gray. Strengthened Ion-X glass. Colorful, durable bands.
Apple Watch Edition – 18-karat gold cases in yellow or rose. Sapphire crystal. Exquisitely crafted bands and closures.
Powerful technology
The Apple Watch is basically a remarkable feat of engineering. The crown (or dial/wheel as some people call it) is a standard feature on watches. The Apple Watch has a Digital Crown, which is a multifunctional input device that lets you zoom, scroll, and select without covering the screen with your fingers. It’s as integral to Apple Watch as the the mouse is to Mac. The Home screen lets you quickly find your favorite apps and the force-sensitive Retina display puts more functionality at your fingertip.
Precisely perfect
Keeping accurate time is pretty important for a timepiece. Apple Watch uses multiple technologies to keep time within 50 milliseconds of the definitive global time standard. It automatically adjusts to the local time when you travel and presents time in a more meaningful, personal context by sending you notifications and alerts relevant to your life and schedule.
We were blown away by notifications – you feel pressue, like a gentle tap, on your wrist (incoming notification) so you raise your wrist to see what it is – as you raise your wrist the screen lights up to show you the notification, which you can act on or dismiss/delay.
Health and Fitness Companion
Apple Watch delivers a complete picture of your all-day physical activity. The three rings of the Activity app show your progress at a glance, helping you to sit less, move more, and get some exercise. You know how many calories you’ve burned and how active you’ve been – at a glance. There’s also a separate Workout app for dedicated fitness sessions. Over time, Apple Watch will suggest personalized daily fitness goals and encourage you to achieve them.
Unless you actually see it working you won’t believe how amazing it is. Check out the video!
Twerking is the dance craze of the moment, that’s for sure. Gradually, over the last few years it has worked its way into the music videos of leading artists of all race and colour. It may sound rude, yes, but you have to call a spade a spade. Twerking is basically moving your butt. Some do it with more grace than others and some have more cheek to do it with. Nicky Minaj, Miley Cyrus, Shakira and Rihanna are just some of the artists that have succumbed to the twerking craze (truth be told we haven’t found many examples of guys twerking). In this blog we intend to do a mini study on the subject – we’ll look at some of the best this year plus some classic videos on the subject. So get ready for an onslaught of unbridled butt shaking!
Before looking at the most obvious evidence of twerking in 2014, we will approach the subject scientifically, trying, first, to define the concept. The international community does not yet totally agree on the exact definition of “twerking” but we think we can shed some light on the subject with some actual data. 🙂
Twerking is an Anglo-Saxon word that means “the act of dancing provocatively with pelvic movements and clear sexual overtones”. The basic technique is to put your hands on your hips, bend your knees and moves your hips to the rhythm of the music. It’s quite similar to the famous “perreo” from reggaeton dance. Researchers have come to the conclusion that twerking also has some influences from African dances such as ‘mapouka’.
Its origin is the United States as part of hip hop culture in the early 90s. The word comes from the verb Twerk, according to the Oxford Dictionary, means “dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance..”
The seed of the dance has always been around … the Latin ‘perreo’ has many followers all over the world, but we can establish two events as the main sources of twerking that have taken over our recent world. First was Miley Cyrus’s memorable VMA performance in 2013 with Robin Thicke, and second was the release of the video “Pour It Up” by Rihanna in the same year. Two events that have changed the way we move our butts forever…
And now let’s get right to the proof – examples of quality twerking so far this year.
We start with Nicki Minaj, one of the greatest exponents of the twerking movement, who also has the butt to do it proper justice. Her latest video is a compendium of moving butts. “Anaconda” holds the new world record for the most views on YouTube within 24 hours. A clear indication of the interest that the rear end has awakened in the developed world…
Our next example, by the Texan singer Todrick Hall, has absolutely brilliant comic timing. The video is based on the classic movie “Singin ‘in the Rain” (1952), starring the legendary Gene Kelly. This time we are “Twerking in the Rain”…
We return with all guns blazing to a video featuring two great masterpieces in the art of twerking. The temperature will surely rise after seeing this “classic” featuring Shakira and Rihanna…
Mind you, although these stars make twerking look easy, it requires a fair bit of practice and serious training. Here we see Rihanna in a home video practicing the movements. Good twerking, like fame, comes at a price…
It’s high time that we give a Latin example in this study on twerking. The first, comes from the hand of the famous rapper, actress and Dominican model, The Materialist. We have our doubts about this video though – the line between twerking and perreo is very thin.”
Recently Miley Cyrus made a plea about twerking saying that it was originally invented by a man, by Elvis Presley to be exact. Miley said his hip movements didn’t generate so much controversy because he was a man. “Elvis was a sex symbol at the time, but nobody said anything against it because he wasn’t a girl, another example of double standards”, she said angrily in various media last week.
Looking back to last year – do you remember this surreal and comical view of twerking by the musical project Major Lazer? It’s way over the top!
The young Australian rapper and superstar Iggy Azalea, is not far behind when it comes to showing strength in the field of twerking. Physical attributes are an advantage for Iggy as she shows off her mastery of the twerking technique in “Work”.
Now we go back to 2012 with “Express Yourself” by Diplo feat.Nicky Da – a clear example of how the butt movement has become a method of artistic expression…
We finish this review with a video dedicated to the main object that makes it possible to twerk: The Butt. Big Sean and Nicki Minaj tell you quite clearly and in several different languages…
Wait! We haven’t quite finished yet. Before we close we have to look at two concepts that are rarely seen together: classical music and twerking. We’ll say no more…
SHOWTIME! We continue our series of ‘In Performance at the White House’ – a series of concerts created to showcase the rich fabric of American culture in the exclusive setting of the nation’s most famous home. To see last weeks post, Red, White and Blues, click here.
Motown Sound
“In Performance at the White House: Motown Sound” is a PBS music special taped in the East Room of the White House. President and Mrs. Obama hosted the concert in recognition of Black History Month and the legacy of Motown, the distinctive soul-infused pop music sound, style and presentation that was born in Detroit and embodied by the Motown Records label. Hosted by Jamie Foxx the concert includes performances by Foxx, John Legend, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Natasha Bedingfield, Sheryl Crow, the group Gloriana, Nick Jonas, Ledisi, Amber Riley, Mark Salling, Seal and Jordin Sparks.
The Motown Records label was invented by music entrepreneur Berry Gordy and it launched a historic cultural shift in the racial integration of popular music, with crossover hits and artists such as Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson, Mary Wells, The Four Tops and many others. It transformed a whole generation musically and it’s rich legacy continues to be felt today.
Download these shows and add them to your music library
This is part of a 10-week series that we will be running on our blog, with the music videos conveniently separated into individual performances so that you can save and download your favourite artists, or the whole show if your prefer. Creation 5’s YouTube feature lets you download videos so you can watch offline when you’re travelling and enjoy great music on-the-go. Don’t forget that you can download Creation 5’s YouTube In-app purchase absolutely FREE, which normally costs €4.49 ($4.99), as we currently have a promotion running in celebration of hitting 450,000 downloads on the App Store!
01. Intro [President’s speech] 02. Jaime Foxx, Nick Jonas, Seal and John Legend – Medley of the Temptations 03 Sheryl Crow – I want you back (The Temptations) 04 Nick Jonas – I Can’t Help Myself (The Four Tops) 05 Ledisi – My Guy (Mary Wells / Smokey Robinson 06 John Legend – I Heard It Through The Grapevine (Marvin Gaye) 07 Natasha Bedingfield, Jordin Sparks and Ledisi – Stop! In The Name of Love (The Supremes) 08 Seal – My Girl (The Temptations) 09 Natasha Bedingfield – Tracks of My Tears (Smokey Robinson & the Miracles) 10 Amber Riley – Livin’ For The City (Stevie Wonder) 11 Gloriana – Aint No Mountain High Enough (Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell) 12 Jordin Sparks – You Can’t Hurry Love (The Supremes) 13 Sheryl Crow & Smokey Robinson – You Really Got A Hold On Me (Smokey Robinson & the Miracles) 14 Stevie Wonder – You Are The Sunshine of My Life 15 All Performers – Dancin’ In The Street
President Obama explained the origins of Motown in his opening speech: “Over the years this room has hosted some of the most talented musicians in the world from clasical to country…but Motown is different. No one knows exactly where jazz began. Nobody knows who the first person was to sing a freedom song, but we know where Motown came from. We know it was born in the basement of a house on West Gran Boulevar in the motor city, Detroit. And we know it started with a man named Berry Gordy, who is here with us tonight. Berry could recognise talent and potential better than anyone else in the business. It began with Smokey Robinson, who stopped by the Motown House with a group of friends calling themselves The Miracles. Then came one of Smokey’s neighbours, a high school senior named Diana Ross. One of the Miracles brought along his little brother who invited a 10.year-old blind boy named Stevland Hardaway Judkins to tag along. And then there was a group called The Jackson 5 fresh from amateur night at the Apollo. Motown’s blend of tight lyrics, catchy melodies and deep soul began to blur the line between music that was considered either black or white.”
Happy Birthday to the undisputed Queen of Music! Beyoncé turns 33 today and to celebrate we’ve made a Queen Bey Playlist – Get Drunk in Love, have some Sweet Dreams and enjoy the music – it’s Flawless!
Tap the playlist title to open it in Creation 5
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter was born and raised in Houston, Texas and rose to fame in the late 1990s as lead singer of R&B girl-group Destiny’s Child. Her career has spanned 16 years – she has won 17 Grammy awards and sold over 75 million records as a solo artist and a further 60 million as part of Destiny’s Child. This makes her one of the best selling artists of all time. In 2009, Billboard named her the Top Radio Songs Artist of the Decade, the Top Female Artist of the 2000s and their Artist of the Millennium in 2011. In 2014, she ranked Nº1 in Forbes’ Celebrity 100 list and became the highest-paid black musician in history. Featured on the cover of Time Magazine, she was included in their list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2013 and 2014.
Beyoncé seems to have made her way into everyone’s heart and it’s not too hard to see why. She supports strong women and leads by example. She has managed to make a headlining tour look like child’s play. She completely changed the music game last year by dropping her self titled album as a complete surprise. Her daughter Blue Ivy stole the show at this year’s VMA’s with the words “yeah, Mommy”. Beyonce is a force of nature.
According to Hollywood reports she will be celebrating her birthday in Europe on their yacht with some friends – it’s her favorite way to celebrate. Jay Z will also be buying her some serious bling – but it’s the downtime on the boat that is the most valuable to Queen Bey. And the timing is perfect because they start their tour in France the next week.
So…charge your glasses and be upstanding…A toast to the Queen of Music, May your career continue to flourish and may your family life be as successful as your career. Here’s to Beyoncé!
Stripping is not just for professional strippers, in it’s true form it’s an art. It’s an opportunity for women and men to wake up their senses, appreciate their bodies, and bare it all. It can be one of the most beautiful things you’ll ever do or witness, especially in an intimate situation. Of course, it can just be a laugh and a jiggle.Read More
The annual iTunes Festival in London returns tonight for its eighth edition and will run for 30 nights during September, showcasing some of the biggest and most diverse names in music. The festival takes place at Camden’s historic Roundhouse, one of London’s most intimate and special venues. Apple will be streaming the live shows via iTunes – so everyone can watch the action, from the comfort of their own home. And if you have Apple TV you can stream it straight to your Big Screen.
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Since its inception, more than 400 artists have performed at the festival, while millions of fans have watched the magic live. In an interview with The Guardian, Oliver Schusser, Senior Director of iTunes International at Apple, said that he hopes that fans are happy with the selection of artists on offer this year.
“This is our eighth year, and from the first year on, for us it was about diversity” he said. “It’s really a fully-curated month: we want to make sure we have some pop artists, some classical artists, jazz. Some well-established artists, and some up-and-coming artists that we really believe in. I’m really proud, because I think it’s as diverse as we can get.”
Indeed, this year’s line-up is quite the mixed bag of goodies and surprises. Deadmau5 is to kick off the festivities tonight, while Clean Bandit, Tony Bennett, Kiesza, Sam Smith, Jungle, Pharrell Williams, Foxes, Mary J. Blige, Blondie, Lenny Kravitz, Kylie Minogue and Ed Sheeran are amongst those on the eclectic line up. It has just been confirmed that opera legend Plácido Domingo will close the festival.
The festival itself has had a major influence on the timing of new releases and marketing campaigns targeted around artists performing at the event. “It feels like this has become really a great part of everyone’s promo activity, from a label and manager and artist perspective”, explains Schusser. “It happened already two years ago: all of a sudden this became a key part of everyone’s plan. Lady Gaga opened last year on the first, and that was the kick-off for her new project, and the same for Katy Perry at the end.”
As always, tickets to attend the festival cannot be purchased and are being handed out to contest winners in Europe, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico and the U.S., via online competitions run by local media partners on platforms such as iTunes, Twitter and Shazam, in newspapers such as the London Evening Standard and on radio stations like Global Radio.
iTunes provides live-streaming, live news feeds, and even a way for fans to apply for tickets. It also allows people to stream the September gigs for free in more than 100 countries.
This is Apple’s genius way of giving the festival a global profile and allowing up-and-coming artists in support slots – Jungle, Foxes, Jess Glynne, Luke Sital-Singh, MNEK and Wolf Alice – to reach a worldwide audience. Not only is this an excellent way of promoting these artists, it also gives the London festival a first-class rating.
“We do invest a lot in the technology: spending a lot of time, energy and R&D in making sure we have the right cameras, the best angles, the synchronisation between the cameras and the stage. It’s really a one-year project every time.”
iTunes Festival line-up
01Deadmau5
02Beck Jenny Lewis
03David Guetta Clean Bandit + Robin Schulz
045 Seconds of Summer Charlie Simpson
05Kasabian
06Tony Bennett Imelda May
07Calvin Harris
08Robert Plant Luke Sital-Singh
09Sam Smith Sohn
10Pharrell Williams Jungle
11Maroon 5 Matthew Koma + Nick Gardner
12Elbow Nick Mulvey
13Paolo Nutini Rae Morris
14David Gray Lisa Hannigan
15The Script Foxes
16Blondie + Chrissie Hynde
17Gregory Porter Eric Whitacre
18Jessie Ware Little Dragon
19SBTRKT
20Rudimental Jess Glynne
21Ryan Adams First Aid Kit
22Jessie J James Bay
23Placebo The Mirror Trap
24Ben Howard Hozier
25Mary J. Blige
26Lenny Kravitz Wolf Alice
27Kylie Minek
28Nicola Benedetti Milos + Alison Balsom
29Ed Sheeran Foy Vance
30Plácido Domingo
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Michigan Indie/Rock band Citizen have become one of the most well known bands in the alternative music scene, following the launch of their latest album, Youth (2013).
Citizen, who play a blend of emo, melodic hardcore and grunge, signed to Run For Cover Records in 2012 – a move that led to the release of their EP Young States and to them jumping on tour with key bands such as Circa Survive, Title Fight and Daylight.
After speaking with Nick Hamm (guitarist) from Citizen, it’s clear that the guys have all the high hopes and excitement of a band grasping their bright future in the palms of their hands, as they prepare for their first headline tour this autumn.
You’re one of the most well known bands in the alternative music scene. To whom or to what do you owe your success? Honestly, I don’t know how much I’m able to recognize or even gauge where we are as a band. I just really don’t know. I see a lot of bands selling out shows quicker and playing to more people, but I do know that the past year has been really cool. I don’t really know what we owe it to. I think we were 18 year olds writing songs that we liked and other people ended up liking them too. I know that’s not the most introspective answer but we just kind of wrote what we wanted to write, and it ended up being a fun year.
How does it feel to play to huge audiences such as at the Vans Warped Tour, Riot Fest and Fashion Meets Music Festival? I generally view most shows in the same manner. Once you’re up there, it’s business as usual and it more so feels like the 5 of us are in a room together. I really like playing small intimate rooms with no barrier but playing big shows and fests allow me to appreciate the smaller ones so much more.
What’s the greatest thing about playing at a festival? Seeing bands you don’t usually get to play with. That’s by far the best part.
What’s the craziest thing that’s happened on tour? We’re pretty tame but one time, our booking agent, Peanut, fell down an entire flight of spiral stairs. I was the only one who asked him if he was okay but he thought I was making fun of him and flipped out on me. That’s a memory we always bring up.
Stagediving – a) How awesome is it? b) How dangerous is it? I love it but obviously sometimes people just shouldn’t do it. I see a lot of people run to the edge of the stage, stop, and then try to jump with no momentum. That’s not a good idea.
What was it like to produce your latest album, Youth, at Studio 4 with Will Yip? 3 weeks of recording and writing with your best friends (Will Yip included). It was one of the best times of my life.
Which is your favourite song on the album and why? “The Summer” is the song that we collaborated the most on. I think it’s the most definitive Citizen song because it sounds straight up like Mat’s writing style meeting my writing style. I’m not really sick of that song yet. I haven’t listened to the record in a really long time so it’s hard for me to say. My other fav is “Figure You Out”.
How do you divide the song-writing tasks between the band members? On Youth, it was mostly either me writing a song and letting Mat screw with it a little bit, or Mat writing a song and then letting me screwing with that. I really like the way we do that. I think the new one will probably have more direction from everyone though.
What do you enjoy the most about being in a band? Traveling and not having to work!
You just finished touring the UK. How does the response in Europe differ to in the US? It was honestly pretty similar. I think the people coming to the shows might be a little more excited to see us since they haven’t before but besides that, pretty similar to the US.
Do you have a favourite city or crowd to play to? I love Philadelphia and Chicago. Those are my top two. London was also incredible.
Your latest album, Youth, got leaked. How do you feel about the Internet age, illegal downloads, streaming and the general loss of control over the diffusion of your music? At the time Youth leaked, I was glad it leaked because I just wanted people to hear it. However, we didn’t have some crazy airtight roll out plan that was sacrificed or anything. As far as the Internet age, it sort of sucks because I love physical packaging and record covers and all of that. I think packaging is really important.
You begin your very first US headline tour this fall. How psyched are you and what are you looking forward to the most? Oh I can’t wait. This is Citizen’s first opportunity (tour-wise) to offer something that we’ve kind of built ourselves. We got to pick all of the bands and it was really exciting putting it together. I think it’s going to be a blast.
Youth Tracklist 1. Roam The Room 2. Figure You Out 3. The Summer 4. Sleep 5. How Does It Feel? 6. The Night I Drove Alone 7. Speaking With A Ghost 8. Your Head Got Misplaced 9. Sick And Impatient 10. Drawn Out Buy Youth at the Run For Cover store!
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